Sparks
by Simplysheree
Summary: The thing about Sparks was that she made him want a life outside this war... and that might not be an option for either of them. Rated M for later chapters and language, TaliXJames Vega. *Help me captain this ship!*


The thing with Sparks was that she made him think.

She was always so calm, cool and efficient. He pulled himself up into a crunch and grunted as him stomach muscles protested under the strain. The thing was she was just so different from any person he'd ever met and she made him want to be better; James knew he wasn't the smartest guy. He knew that he thought with his gut and that his idea of strategy was picking who to hit first and that had never bothered him, until he thought she might have noticed.

Sparks was the kind of smart he'd never known before; that mix of passion, intelligence and logic that made someone magnetic. You had to respect a woman like that. The fact that her ass was damn near perfect didn't hurt. Letting his body slump back to the ground he relaxed; his heart thundered in his throat as a hot bead of sweat trickled past the corner of his eye. Dragging himself up again with a groan he, finally, admitted defeat and sat with his head hanging a little.

"You know, humans always surprise me," he jumped, startled from his reverie; _speak of the devil..._ he smiled at Tali as nonchalantly as he could manage,

"Yeah? Hows that Sparks?"

"For a species that abhors pain so much," she padded past him; her voice reminded him of running water. Like a stream bubbling over rocks, "you seem to inflict it upon yourselves often." He couldn't argue with that, for sure. So he scratched his head and grinned and lied through his teeth,

"I dunno Sparks, I feel fine." He stood and rolled his shoulders, flexing with a chuckle, "Do I look like I'm in pain to you?"

"No..." she put her hands on her hips, giving him the distinct impression that she was looking him up and down, "you look like a peacock showing off its tail feathers."

"Heh... well," he floundered, lost for words until he fell back on flirting, "it's good to know you noticed."

"Yes... well," she chortled and turned away, "one doesn't have to be a peacock to appreciate a lovely display."

_Wait- what?_ He double took; _did she? _Had she been flirting with him? He licked him lips and considered pushing his luck for a few moments before Scars came thundering in, cursing and swearing about the Primarch and Wrex. _Fabulous timing as always, Scars... and of course where there's one..._ Shepard sauntered in with a small smile on her lips,

"Hey, Lola, knew you couldn't stay away!" He laughed when she flicked the finger at him and slid up to Scars,

"Garrus, if you don't calm down you're going to explode."

He zoned them out and started working on Alenko's rifle; the trigger kept jamming, he said. He didn't even notice her slide up beside him until she took the rifle from his hands,

"You're going to break it if you keep doing that." She turned her face to him, "Sometimes you have to be gentle, approach it with care and caution."

"That right?" He eyes her carefully,

"Yes, afterall..." she drew the word out along with the offending object; a small piece of wire, "you wouldn't want to break it for something so silly as impatience." She handed the rifle back to him and laughed at, what he was sure was, his shell-shocked expression,

"No... heh, definitely not." He took it slowly, carefully, _gently,_

"Besides you don't want to get on Kaidans bad side," she laughed, "he's got _quite_ the temper for such a calm man."

And she was gone.

Just a slight breeze and a soft, spicy smell was left in her wake. _Carefully, gently, softly..._the words rang in his head. He smiled and rubbed the back of his neck, _cautiously? What does that mean?_ Fucked if he knew but the words still kept ringing in his head; did he really want to put time and energy, during a war, into chasing a woman that he couldn't even kiss, that might be allergic to him... that probably wasn't interested in him anyway?

Well, in a word? Yes. He did... but how could he justify the use of his time, his mind, as a mean to getting something that would be useless to the war effort? His eyes caught on Scars and Lola; they looked happy and cool, as if nothing could bother them. How much better had Lola's personal life gotten since she allowed Scars into it? The question answered itself; she'd gained the weight she lost, her skin was almost back to its usual shade and she didn't look dead on her feet anymore. That could only be good for the war... he rubbed the back of his neck again, ignoring the creeping bile that told him his happiness was not as paramount as Lolas.

That was the thing with Sparks; she made him nervous because wanting her was wanting a life outwith the war. And he wasn't sure that was an option for either of them right now.


End file.
